wow.. the red fabric.. the bent left leg.. the rough stone correlating to Marysas.. the first step..

I imagine the perseverance of flamel is key here .. v.. sever and persist

That bent leg figure in Red! What a great connection HT.

You know its interesting that I always thought the guy wearing red in NP's Shepherds was Mars (he even points like the arrow), and also how interesting it is the Mars of MARSyas. Actually, it was something that Astree wrote over a year ago, a free flow connection about Mars that told me to look at Marsyas in Guercino's painting. Only then did it make sense that he is also the rough stone.

The only thing is that Apollo and Mars can't be equated symbolically. Mars is Mars and Apollo is a Solar figure.